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This was a mistake. I should sleep on the floor. Maybe take a cold shower too.
“Hey, Sunshine?” she whispers into the dark.
“Hm?”
“Do you think Grayson will be offended if I deflate all of those balloons? They take upalotof space.”
I chuckle at the random question. Only Juliette would be thinking of balloons right now.
“I don’t think so, but you can tell him I popped them. I don’t care if he gets mad at me.”
“Okay, I might do that.”
Quiet fills the room. I close my eyes to try and block out the knowledge that Juliette is in my bed, but that only heightens my other senses. Her sweet and spicy scent seems to permeate the air between us and every little move she makes has the impact of an earthquake.
“Sunshine?” she whispers again and I smile.
“Yeah, Jules?” I can’t hide the amusement in my voice.
“Thank you, for … everything.”
I open my eyes again to look at her.
“You’re welcome.” I pause, not sure I’ll be able to hold back all my thoughts if we keep talking. “You should get some more rest.”
“Yeah, probably should.” She shifts again, tugging on the covers some. I briefly wonder if she’s the type to steal blankets. I suppose I’ll find out by morning. “Goodnight, Adrian.”
“Goodnight, Juliette.”
I wake up to bells chiming–the least obnoxious alarm I could find for these wakeups. As I come out of sleep, my whole body tenses. Because nestled into my chest is a head of soft blonde hair. Juliette must have rolled closer in her sleep. She’s tucked into my arms and all I want is to keep her there, but I do have to wake her up.
I reach behind me and turn the alarm off, then run a hand down Juliette’s arm.
“Jules, it’s time to wake up again,” I say in a low voice.
When she stirs awake I expect her to move, but she only snuggles closer, humming happily. I stifle a chuckle and let my arm settle around her, rubbing her back. In the morning I’ll put distance between us again–at least until she reads the letter or we talk through everything, whichever comes first. For now, I’ll enjoy this moment.
“How are you feeling?”
“Amazing,” she says into my chest.
I smile down at her as affection swells in my heart. She’s so easy to adore. I could see myself falling in love with her. When her hands clench the fabric of my shirt, I realize I already am. It’s as if there’s been a pile of embers in my heart and she came along and stoked them back to life. I’m not worried about it going wrong though. No, as I gaze down at her figure cast in the shadows of midnight, I know that she’s worth the potential heartbreak. I’ll give her the heart straight out of my chest if it means I get to soak up the sweetness of her presence for even the shortest length of time.
“Your head isn’t hurting?”
“Nope,” she says, then suddenly her face is pressed into my neck. Her breath on my skin makes my stomach dip.
She takes a deep breath in. “You smell so good.”
I’m unable to constrain my chuckles after that.
“I’m happy you think so.”
Her feet tangle with my own as she presses even closer. We’re in a cocoon of warmth and softness that I never want to leave.
“I saw your cologne in your bathroom. I’m going to buy it.”
“Yeah?” I trace circles on her back, making her shiver. “What are you going to do with it?”
